I noticed in this week's Walgreen's ad there were three items that instead of getting your money back in register rewards, they were mail-in rebates. Same concept, right? Free. Your money back.
Actually yes and no. First off, you have to mail in the form to get your money back. And you either have to make photocopies of the recipt OR buy them on seperate orders. How many will not do this? It's been over 48 hours and I still haven't done mine. But I don't want to miss out on $6. I'm afraid this might be a trend coming in Walgreens savings, but I guess only time will tell. Even so, it's still free, just a little more work.
My Walgreens trips have been good lately, but nothing to blog about. My favorite cashier is always impressed with my savings. This week, though I only had $2 in Register Rewards to start my savings, and no coupons.
For $13.70 I got a bottle of "Chestal" (cough syrup), a tube of sensitive toothpaste (that's expensive and hard to find free, and I use that once a day), and a box of Contact cold medicine. I received $9.50 in Register Rewards, and a $5 mail in refund. So, not bad at all. I'm wanting to go back and repeat this order tomorrow minus the cough syrup as it's limited to one per household. (Hmmm, a way to keep us from getting lots of items? I hope this isn't a trend.)
Back in the early days of the Internet, I can't remember the deal I did but I can remember I had tons of free medicines for cold, flu, and allergies. In fact, so much I never used them all. I saw one bottle of cough syrup recently from a now defunct online drugstore and it had an expiration date of last century on it! So my goal is before cold and flu season hits to get enough cold medicine as well as cough syrup to last this season. (I noticed on an allergy medicine tonight it had a 2003 exp. date so I think I really need to go through all the meds here at the house!)
I will admit it is nice to be able to just go into the pantry when I'm not feeling well and find something to take and not have to think about going out somewhere to buy something to help make me feel better. Even nicer when it's free.
So, I'll be stopping at Walgreen's tomorrow and hopefully repeat my Contact, and toothpaste buying. Of course I can't use any register rewards I earned already without splitting it into different orders, but that's okay. I like the thought of basically getting it free. (Even if I do have to mail in the form, the proof of purchase from the box, and the cash register tape.)
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Friends, Facebook and Phones
Tonight I was on Facebook and a childhood friend posted she lost her phone and asked if someone would call it so it would ring and she could find it. I told her I was online, and in less than two minutes I was talking to Cindy.
I hadn't talked to her in 25 years. We both agreed that it was meant to be that her phone got lost. (When I called the sock pile she was folding started ringing!) :) Cindy moved to my town in 5th grade, and left in 8th. That seems like a short time, but to kids, that seems like a huge amount of time. She lived down the street from me, and we had some great memories together. One summer day my family went to my grandparent's second place. Cindy and I played in the creek, Dad grilled out. Dad also left the car radio on all day, and ran down the battery. Mom and Dad ended up walking a mile to the nearest neighbors to call and get someone to come and jump the battery in our car as this was before cell phones and before my grandparents moved into that property, so there was no phone. In the meantime Cindy and I were cowered in the backseat of the car with a dead battery. My grandmother kept teasing us that she saw bears (which she may have, but we were scared enough without having to be told there were bears around.) The memories 10 year olds have.
We also talked about how we grew up in a small town and we'd walk to the Five and Ten. It was not a big deal to walk somewhere. Times sure have changed. Everyone knew everyone, and if we did something wrong, someone was sure to tell our parents. We couldn't get away with ANYTHING. Think a 1980s Mayberry. We still were able to go to houses of people we didn't know at Trick or Treat because we knew our parents would know those people. Even during the days of the cyanide laced Tylenol, that was the outside world, not our town.
She said that even once she moved from here it was totally different because here when you went to church everyone knew everyone and we all know that grandmotherly lady at church would never steal a baby. Now you can't be too careful.
We had a great time laughing. (She even told me which boy in our class was the first one she ever kissed with snuff in his mouth.)
I love Facebook and getting to reconnect with old friends. I told her tonight someday she's going to be the coolest grandmother because she'll be teaching her grandkids to breakdance and watch old 80s movies with them.
I think her phone got lost for a reason. Fourty minutes of laughs. A short time to catch up on 25 years, but it was fun, and I'm thankful for a phone that landed in a pile of folded socks.
I hadn't talked to her in 25 years. We both agreed that it was meant to be that her phone got lost. (When I called the sock pile she was folding started ringing!) :) Cindy moved to my town in 5th grade, and left in 8th. That seems like a short time, but to kids, that seems like a huge amount of time. She lived down the street from me, and we had some great memories together. One summer day my family went to my grandparent's second place. Cindy and I played in the creek, Dad grilled out. Dad also left the car radio on all day, and ran down the battery. Mom and Dad ended up walking a mile to the nearest neighbors to call and get someone to come and jump the battery in our car as this was before cell phones and before my grandparents moved into that property, so there was no phone. In the meantime Cindy and I were cowered in the backseat of the car with a dead battery. My grandmother kept teasing us that she saw bears (which she may have, but we were scared enough without having to be told there were bears around.) The memories 10 year olds have.
We also talked about how we grew up in a small town and we'd walk to the Five and Ten. It was not a big deal to walk somewhere. Times sure have changed. Everyone knew everyone, and if we did something wrong, someone was sure to tell our parents. We couldn't get away with ANYTHING. Think a 1980s Mayberry. We still were able to go to houses of people we didn't know at Trick or Treat because we knew our parents would know those people. Even during the days of the cyanide laced Tylenol, that was the outside world, not our town.
She said that even once she moved from here it was totally different because here when you went to church everyone knew everyone and we all know that grandmotherly lady at church would never steal a baby. Now you can't be too careful.
We had a great time laughing. (She even told me which boy in our class was the first one she ever kissed with snuff in his mouth.)
I love Facebook and getting to reconnect with old friends. I told her tonight someday she's going to be the coolest grandmother because she'll be teaching her grandkids to breakdance and watch old 80s movies with them.
I think her phone got lost for a reason. Fourty minutes of laughs. A short time to catch up on 25 years, but it was fun, and I'm thankful for a phone that landed in a pile of folded socks.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Snopes. It's a good thing.
I'm a bit of a geek, but for about 10 years now I've loved http://www.snopes.com/ . Let me repeat myself. For about 10 years now, I've loved http://www.snopes.com/ .
It's amazing to me how many people either
If you get something in your e-mail that sounds too amazing, horrible, far fetched, or sick to be true, your first stop should be http://www.snopes.com/ Some of that stuff IS true.
YES, these are true:
These are NOT:
It seems to me the majority of things that I see are either odd factoids (note there is nothing about this October's calendar that is special. We'll have 5 Fridays, Saturday, and Sundays in 11 years, not 800!). I also see a lot of things passing as prayer requests that aren't true, policital items, and missing children. (There are enough TRUE prayer requests and missing children out there that should you want to forward something, just make sure it's true. I sometimes wonder what God thinks when there's tons of prayers for a situation that doesn't really exist because people didn't check out he facts before cut and pasting a status on Facebook. If there's a report of someone seeing a missing child when there's not really one missing, that ties up time at the police department.) There's enough bad situations in the world without people passing around false ones! Also, if you are a Christian, I've always been taught Christians should be honest, ethical, and truthful. Our actions shouldn't change just because we got an e-mail saying that there was a hole to hell drilled in Siberia. This is false. I understand wanting to convert others, but let's not do it with lies. Let's not allow our morals to slip in honesty just because we heard some amazing or horrible story on the Internet.
Please check out Snopes before you pass on something that you didn't personally write. It's worth looking around on the site to see what kind of stuff people can create!
It's amazing to me how many people either
- ignore snopes
- assume that no one will send them an urban legend
- doesn't know it exists
- doesn't care
If you get something in your e-mail that sounds too amazing, horrible, far fetched, or sick to be true, your first stop should be http://www.snopes.com/ Some of that stuff IS true.
YES, these are true:
- Five Year Old in Peru Gave Birth to a Child
- Home Owner blows up house with bug bombs
- The Marlboro Man died of Lung Cancer
These are NOT:
- Restaurant to Serve Body Parts (NOT TRUE)
- Hello Kitty was NOT created as a pact with the devil to cure cancer
- Jesus is NOT being cloned
It seems to me the majority of things that I see are either odd factoids (note there is nothing about this October's calendar that is special. We'll have 5 Fridays, Saturday, and Sundays in 11 years, not 800!). I also see a lot of things passing as prayer requests that aren't true, policital items, and missing children. (There are enough TRUE prayer requests and missing children out there that should you want to forward something, just make sure it's true. I sometimes wonder what God thinks when there's tons of prayers for a situation that doesn't really exist because people didn't check out he facts before cut and pasting a status on Facebook. If there's a report of someone seeing a missing child when there's not really one missing, that ties up time at the police department.) There's enough bad situations in the world without people passing around false ones! Also, if you are a Christian, I've always been taught Christians should be honest, ethical, and truthful. Our actions shouldn't change just because we got an e-mail saying that there was a hole to hell drilled in Siberia. This is false. I understand wanting to convert others, but let's not do it with lies. Let's not allow our morals to slip in honesty just because we heard some amazing or horrible story on the Internet.
Please check out Snopes before you pass on something that you didn't personally write. It's worth looking around on the site to see what kind of stuff people can create!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
How do sexual inuendos equate breast cancer awareness?
Let me begin by saying I have nothing against breast cancer awareness. In fact, I believe it's a good thing. However, I was dismayed last year when women started posting their bra color on facebook. The idea was to keep the men from knowing what was going on. Okay, first off, men get breast cancer as well. And second, how many of you who posted your bra color would be oppossed to -- say announcing your bra color at church in the Sunday morning bulletin? A friend of mine who's a pastor's wife commented last year that we had lost respect for our 'brothers' (meaning brothers in Christ) when we post the color of our intimates on Facebook. I had friends post they weren't wearing any bra, etc. I was amazed at the people who did and didn't post. (I did not.) It's one thing to giggle about our underthings in a room full of women, but I don't feel comfortable telling the world what color my bra is. (Although one of my friends who is a pastor posted that his bra color was orange. I had to laugh.)
This year it's sexual inuendos that are all over Facebook to suppossedly raise breast cancer awareness. The "game" to to say "I like it" and then say where you keep your purse. I saw a friend's status earlier asking the question of this blog post. I'm not sure myself. Someone commented on her status a pervert came up with the idea, but he enjoyed it.
Maybe it's me. Maybe I feel like I should have a little more decorum online. Maybe it's the fact I think we shouldn't say anything online we wouldn't say in front of others in person. Maybe it's the fact I realize I have friends on facebook who are male. (I think everyone has both male and female friends). Maybe it's the fact I dislike posts that are a bit intimate or I feel shouldn't be things that should be posted on facebook. (That said, I do love lamebook because some people are a train wreck.) Maybe it's the fact I grew up in church and went to Christian schools and we were always taught to avoid all appearance of evil, and I don't think sexual inuendos, no matter how good the cause are something I feel comfortable in which posting on my status.
My mother is on facebook and she thought all the "I like it" posts were saying where people liked to have sex. My mother. Female. Knew this was nothing about breast cancer awareness.
I do support breast cancer awareness, and to that fact I will say, "I do support breast cancer awareness, but not sexual inuendos, so I keep my purse on the floor."
This year it's sexual inuendos that are all over Facebook to suppossedly raise breast cancer awareness. The "game" to to say "I like it" and then say where you keep your purse. I saw a friend's status earlier asking the question of this blog post. I'm not sure myself. Someone commented on her status a pervert came up with the idea, but he enjoyed it.
Maybe it's me. Maybe I feel like I should have a little more decorum online. Maybe it's the fact I think we shouldn't say anything online we wouldn't say in front of others in person. Maybe it's the fact I realize I have friends on facebook who are male. (I think everyone has both male and female friends). Maybe it's the fact I dislike posts that are a bit intimate or I feel shouldn't be things that should be posted on facebook. (That said, I do love lamebook because some people are a train wreck.) Maybe it's the fact I grew up in church and went to Christian schools and we were always taught to avoid all appearance of evil, and I don't think sexual inuendos, no matter how good the cause are something I feel comfortable in which posting on my status.
My mother is on facebook and she thought all the "I like it" posts were saying where people liked to have sex. My mother. Female. Knew this was nothing about breast cancer awareness.
I do support breast cancer awareness, and to that fact I will say, "I do support breast cancer awareness, but not sexual inuendos, so I keep my purse on the floor."
Friday, October 8, 2010
My Dad, gone for 4 years
This week marks the 4th anniversary of my dad's death. It's unreal to believe he's been gone for that long. It seems like everyone who ever met him had a story about something he did. When he was in the nursing home he once trapped an aide in the closet. He caught the car on fire fixing it. He was the best raffle ticket seller for the fire department because everyone knew if they didn't buy a ticket, Dad would embarass them over the P.A. system at the carnival grounds, so the best thing to do would be to buy a raffle ticket early on to keep him "quiet". :) (Of course, if you were buying only one and he thought you could afford more, he'd annouce you were cheap and buying only one!)
He was president of the resident's council at Heartland. And before he went in the nursing home, he loved to cook for the men's prayer breakfasts at his church. (I have a feeling that thanks to him, there might have been more breakfast than prayer going on! I think he went hours before everyone else to start cooking for them!) :)
Dad was a volunteer fireman for parts of five decades.
Here are some photos of him:
He was president of the resident's council at Heartland. And before he went in the nursing home, he loved to cook for the men's prayer breakfasts at his church. (I have a feeling that thanks to him, there might have been more breakfast than prayer going on! I think he went hours before everyone else to start cooking for them!) :)
Dad was a volunteer fireman for parts of five decades.
Here are some photos of him:
Dad was about 16 when this photo was taken.
I was about five, and this is when Dad owned the monument business. This is in front of the shop where he carved tombstones.
Dad showed an early interest in firefighing! He was barely old enough to walk but was "toddling" about on the firetruck!
Dad always loved Christmas!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Eistein Yawning
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my digital camera. It was under $100, takes great photos, has a lot of different settings on it, can take video, etc. It also isn't the battery hog like some digitals I've had in the past are. The only thing I dislike is the refresh rate. It is SO slow. Unfortunately that means I've lost some good photos in the year and a half I've had it.
I love my guinea pigs. A guinea pig yawn is precious. But it's also quick. Usually I can't get a photo of a yawn, including with an old camera.
So, I was thrilled when Einstein happened to yawn just as I snapped this photo.
I love my guinea pigs. A guinea pig yawn is precious. But it's also quick. Usually I can't get a photo of a yawn, including with an old camera.
So, I was thrilled when Einstein happened to yawn just as I snapped this photo.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Goodbye, Charlie
Did you know PetCo does pet adoptions? I didn't until May 2007 when we went in for some Carefresh and saw a little guy needing adopted. His name was Charlie, and he stole our hearts. We walked out with Carefresh, and Charlie.
He was a great pig. We had three others at the time we got him, and all were older. He seemed to know that they demanded more attention at the moment but his time was coming, and boy did it. Near the end he would be out sitting on us well over an hour each evening. (Some nights it would be more like 2 hours.)
He was always a happy pig, and until the last seven weeks (or is that wheeks) of his life, he was quite healthy. He lived with three roommates, but needed to be seperated because they were starting not to let him eat as much. He lived seven weeks by himself, with LOTS of attention from us. Since he was alone and had been used to living with other pigs, I had to help take up the slack on his socialization.
Charlie always enjoyed helping when he could with my contests. He co-starred in a video I made for an eBay contest. He was in a photo of "How do you tailgate" for a chip company. He was even in The National Examiner. That was a funny story. I spread a Fisher Price Noah's Ark around him and captioned the photo "Charlie enjoys playing Noah's Ark." When the woman called to tell me it would be printed she asked "Exactly HOW does he play Noah's Ark?" (Um, okay, he's a guinea pig sitting in the middle of a Noah's Ark set, doesn't that give someone a clue? LOL!)
I miss that little guy looking for food as I pass by (his last home was right by the kitchen and even if I went to fill up my tea glass, he still hoped for some goodie to be tossed his way.)
He was a good pig and will be missed.
He was a great pig. We had three others at the time we got him, and all were older. He seemed to know that they demanded more attention at the moment but his time was coming, and boy did it. Near the end he would be out sitting on us well over an hour each evening. (Some nights it would be more like 2 hours.)
He was always a happy pig, and until the last seven weeks (or is that wheeks) of his life, he was quite healthy. He lived with three roommates, but needed to be seperated because they were starting not to let him eat as much. He lived seven weeks by himself, with LOTS of attention from us. Since he was alone and had been used to living with other pigs, I had to help take up the slack on his socialization.
Charlie always enjoyed helping when he could with my contests. He co-starred in a video I made for an eBay contest. He was in a photo of "How do you tailgate" for a chip company. He was even in The National Examiner. That was a funny story. I spread a Fisher Price Noah's Ark around him and captioned the photo "Charlie enjoys playing Noah's Ark." When the woman called to tell me it would be printed she asked "Exactly HOW does he play Noah's Ark?" (Um, okay, he's a guinea pig sitting in the middle of a Noah's Ark set, doesn't that give someone a clue? LOL!)
I miss that little guy looking for food as I pass by (his last home was right by the kitchen and even if I went to fill up my tea glass, he still hoped for some goodie to be tossed his way.)
He was a good pig and will be missed.
Charlie Dickens
May 2007 - September 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
My Las Vegas trip
I won a trip to Las Vegas from Home Shopping Network. When I was in high school, a friend and I used to watch HSN by the hour over the phone. (Let's just say when I got to Vegas, the HSN reps ate this story up.) :)
I always wanted to be an actress when I was little. That is, when I wasn't dreaming of being an English professor. :) The weekend in Vegas gave me a taste of television as HSN was taping. My cousin went with me, and she commented on how peppy I was during the taping. Even Bill Green, HSN celebrity, commented to me about how I was "perfect" during the taping. My face hurt after the first session, I'll tell you that! :)
When we landed in Vegas, I immeditately called my friend Chris. She lives near Baltimore, which is only about four hours from me, but we've never met. We've been on a message board together for about 12 years, and it felt like I knew everything about her. My cousin joked about this, and she asked Chris' husband "Boxers or briefs". Would you believe I answered correctly! (When I say I feel like I know everything about them, I meant it! LOL!)
Chris, Cathy, and I walked around the strip, and I saw a place that served Phillipino food. I had just been saying on the plane I would love to have some again. I taught English in China one summer, and often ate Phillipino food but haven't had any since 1998! So, of course, Cathy and I ate there that evening. I had pancit, a mano smoothie, and a Diet Coke (and in true Asian style, the lady pointed out to me where the lemon was located for my Diet Coke! That is a habit I picked up in Asia, and I do enjoy lemon in my colas!)
After that, HSN sponsored a cocktail party, and it was fantastic. The food was delicious (I wish I had known how much food there was going to be, I would have skipped my pancit!) It was open bar, and I was able to meet some other winners I had connected with prior to the trip. We had a fantastic time. Then one of the ladies, her son, and I went to the casino. The hotel gave us a $5 voucher to play in the casino, and I came away $58 richer from playing penny slots.
The next day was taping. The first session was Wolfgang Puck. Three different dishes that he suppossedly made were brought out, and they were amazing! Then Joy Mangano and her huggable hangers. (We all received gift bags which contained 12 huggable hangers, a Serious Skin Care robe, and a sample of Serious Skin Care.)
In between tapings, I visited the "Be An HSN star" booth to record a spot about how my friend and I used to watch HSN over the phone (hmmm, shouldn't have done that, I would have been interviewed second taping session. Bill Greene pointed me out prior to taping and said to interview me. Another HSN star said, "But she's already been in the HSN Star booth, we need to pick someone else." (When I said HSN reps LOVED my story of watching over the phone in high school, I meant it!) :)
Before I went in the booth, a professional make up artist did my makeup!
During the second session, there was an hour of Wolfgang Puck (which I enjoyed this hour immensely. Again, more food, and I must say the man is hillarious!) Then there was an hour of Serious Skin Care with Jennifer Flavin-Stalone (Sylvester Stalone's wife.) Finally, Criss Angel did a 30 minute session selling his magic kit. A friend of mine is a professional magician, so I was very much looking forward to seeing Criss Angel. However, I was disappointed. I realize he was doing magic tricks I could have done at eight years old, and it was an informercial, but he didn't engage the audience the way I expected. I texted my friend right after that session and said that I enjoyed his show more! :)
By the time that session was over, my friend Chris and my cousin Cathy and I went out for dinner. Then we walked around the strip, went over to Chris' hotel and hung out for a while, and then Cathy and I headed back to the casino at our hotel.
The next morning, we flew home. I will say, this was an extremely enjoyable weekend. I loved the lights, camera, and coming home with more money than I took with me! :) Other celebrities I saw but didnt' get my photograph with were Tori Spelling and Susan Lucci.
Some more pictures:
I always wanted to be an actress when I was little. That is, when I wasn't dreaming of being an English professor. :) The weekend in Vegas gave me a taste of television as HSN was taping. My cousin went with me, and she commented on how peppy I was during the taping. Even Bill Green, HSN celebrity, commented to me about how I was "perfect" during the taping. My face hurt after the first session, I'll tell you that! :)
When we landed in Vegas, I immeditately called my friend Chris. She lives near Baltimore, which is only about four hours from me, but we've never met. We've been on a message board together for about 12 years, and it felt like I knew everything about her. My cousin joked about this, and she asked Chris' husband "Boxers or briefs". Would you believe I answered correctly! (When I say I feel like I know everything about them, I meant it! LOL!)
Chris, Cathy, and I walked around the strip, and I saw a place that served Phillipino food. I had just been saying on the plane I would love to have some again. I taught English in China one summer, and often ate Phillipino food but haven't had any since 1998! So, of course, Cathy and I ate there that evening. I had pancit, a mano smoothie, and a Diet Coke (and in true Asian style, the lady pointed out to me where the lemon was located for my Diet Coke! That is a habit I picked up in Asia, and I do enjoy lemon in my colas!)
After that, HSN sponsored a cocktail party, and it was fantastic. The food was delicious (I wish I had known how much food there was going to be, I would have skipped my pancit!) It was open bar, and I was able to meet some other winners I had connected with prior to the trip. We had a fantastic time. Then one of the ladies, her son, and I went to the casino. The hotel gave us a $5 voucher to play in the casino, and I came away $58 richer from playing penny slots.
The next day was taping. The first session was Wolfgang Puck. Three different dishes that he suppossedly made were brought out, and they were amazing! Then Joy Mangano and her huggable hangers. (We all received gift bags which contained 12 huggable hangers, a Serious Skin Care robe, and a sample of Serious Skin Care.)
Here I am with Wolfgang Puck
Before I went in the booth, a professional make up artist did my makeup!
After my makeup was done professionally.
By the time that session was over, my friend Chris and my cousin Cathy and I went out for dinner. Then we walked around the strip, went over to Chris' hotel and hung out for a while, and then Cathy and I headed back to the casino at our hotel.
The next morning, we flew home. I will say, this was an extremely enjoyable weekend. I loved the lights, camera, and coming home with more money than I took with me! :) Other celebrities I saw but didnt' get my photograph with were Tori Spelling and Susan Lucci.
Some more pictures:
Bill Greene, or as I thought of him "Guy Smiley". :)
M&M world. Look at all that candy!
After recording my "Be an HSN star" spot.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Basics of Winning Sweepstakes
Sweepstakes is a great hobby because you can spend a little time on it or a lot. And unless you're very lucky, you'll only see a few wins if you spend a little time on it. It's like the old saying "The harder I work, the more successful I am". The more I enter, the more I win.
That said, here's a few basics to get you started:
I highly recommend an e-mail address seperate from your personal one. I can't recommend gmail enough. I'll talk in a few days about blog giveaways, and you need a google ID for many of these, so I would say gmail is the way to go.
The next thing is always be sure and follow the rules. If it says one entry, don't try for multiple entries. There's more sweepstakes out there than any one person could ever enter, so if it's a one entry, just make your entry and move on to the next. Other things to watch for is eligibility. Some might only be open to certain ages, certain states, etc.
Be ethical. Don't enter your dog just because he has a name that sounds like a person. Or if you're in a voting contest, don't devise ways to cheat the system and get more votes than you are allowed per person.
A few things you need:
To do online sweepstakes, you need a computer. I highly recommend the site http://www.online-sweepstakes.com/ because they list so many sweepstakes, (as of tonight there are almost 8,000 different giveaways listed on this site.) I do recommend upgrading to premium if you enjoy it because the most "winnable" sweepstakes are only able to be seen by paying members. I also recommend the program "Roboform" (there's a free version of it that does NOT store passwords). It makes filling forms so much easier. Really a computer, and Online Sweepstakes is all you need to get started to enter online.
To enter snail mail sweepstakes you need a few more things. Envelopes. Stamps. Index cards. 3x5 papers. And I highly recommend a subscription to Sweeping America http://www.sweepingamerica.com/ This is a weekly sweepstakes newsletter and because it's weekly, new sweepstakes can be published very quickly. In the event of daily prizes, this can be the difference between winning and losing! So, I highly recommend it!
From there, it's up to you to decide how much time you want to spend on entering. I won when I'd mail 10 entries a month, but my wins were few and far between and usually very small.
Also, keep in mind, it often takes time to see results from this hobby. The rule of thumb used to be six months, but I think it's probably less than that now if you consider instant wins as well as how many win notices come by e-mail these days. But, if a few months go by and you don't see a win, you can't get discouraged if you actually want to win. You need to be persistant.
Not everyone is cut out for entering sweepstakes hard-core. And that's okay, we all have different personalities. However, there are some sweepstakes that I think are worth it to the person interested in freebies to enter because if there are a huge number of prizes, that increases your chances of winning! So, in the cases of those, I would recommend everyone be persistant in a few sweepstakes with lots of prizes because after all, who doesn't love freebies, and who doesn't love them more when you WIN them?
Finally, if you are a winner, being polite is nice. If you're on a trip win where you interact with sponsors, don't get together with a group who enter regularly and discuss other wins. If you win tickets to a ball game where the sponsors will see you, don't wear a t-shirt advertising a competitor's product. Thank you notes are a nice gesture, even if sent over e-mail.
Sometimes those of us who enter have a bad reputation because sponsors think we just want things free. But we are also people who buy products. I actually switched brands of bread because they have so many giveaways. I figure why not support a company who gives so much stuff away? I've tried new products because of winning. I won some Laughing Cow cheese once, and I'd never had it before. I have some in my fridge right now because I loved it! I can many times tell you who sponsored giveaways. They do it for advertising, and it works!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Media Kit for Books, Bargains, Blessings
Hi! I'm Jenn. Thank you for your interest in Books, Bargains, Blessings. I love to share products with my readers when I believe the product is of value and when it fits within my niche as a lifstyle blogger focusing on frugality and making money online, family (including adoption), and being a faithful believer.
Please contact me for rates, and more information.
Stats:
7208 Twitter Followers
2371 Facebook Friends
2000 Pinterest Followers
1444 Facebook Fans
67 Klout Score
I just started a newsletter.
When I run a giveaway, I promote it everywhere I can without spamming. I link up on nearly 100 blog linkies for giveaways, and I post in several Facebook groups that allow such.
Companies I have worked with include: Reed & Barton, Gorton's Fish, Purex, Catholic Family Gifts, Farm Rich Foods, Waterbrook Press/ Random House, Tyndale Publishing, TinyPrints, My Comfort Cross, Propeller Network,
MyLoveBook, Discovery House Publishers, Campus Book Rentals, and others.
I am part of the U.S. Cellular Better Moment Blogger Brigade.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)